Alex Rins explains why his next Yamaha steps can't come from copying Fabio Quartararo
“I need to do my own bike right now”
Alex Rins says he is happy with the progress he made on the Yamaha MotoGP bike in 2024 but admits further steps can’t come from copying Fabio Quartararo’s set-up.
The six-time grand prix winner stepped from Honda to Yamaha for the 2024 season, marking his third different manufacturer in as many years having also raced with Suzuki in 2022.
An injury-hit season hindered Rins’ first year on the M1, but towards the end of the campaign he began to make progress, with a best result of eighth coming at the Malaysian Grand Prix.
Reflecting on his first season with Yamaha, Rins feels being paired with 2021 world champion Quartararo has been good for both riders.
He also feels like his advice about bike development has been heeded, but notes that his next steps on the M1 can’t come from copying Quartararo’s settings because “I’m not fast” when he does.
“In the end, the good thing about having Fabio - for me, and I think it’s the same with him - is that we push each other,” he said.
“When I’m faster than him, he tries to give a little bit more to be faster than me.
“When he’s faster than me, I’m trying to give a little bit more to be faster than him.
“The real difference between him and me is the bike. We are two talented riders. He’s in Yamaha since 2019, so this bike is for him.
“I need to do my own bike right now. This year it was a little bit hard to do this because as Yamaha knows I was coming from another team and it takes more times.
“But I’m happy because I gave my point of view and they were listening to me.
“It’s clear that we cannot use the same set-up. When I try to use his set-up I’m not fast. We have two different riding styles.
“So, it just takes time for me and my team to understand.
“And when your bike is not at 100% compared to the other ones, this is even more difficult. So, I’m happy with my progression and I think Yamaha is too.”
While results may have been lacking in 2024 for Rins, he says the year was “always special”.
“Not easy, but always special because you look back, you look on the progression and how the season was, from the first race, for the first time I jumped on the Yamaha,” he added.
“And for sure it was a season with many ups and downs.
“If I need to say if I’m happy or not with my progression, with my work that I did in Yamaha, I’m quite happy because I was able to improve the bike.
“I was able to bring my experience, they heard me and we are working together in a good way.
“The progression and the adaptation on the bike was quite good, quite fast.
“Then in the middle of the season I was struggling because I was injured in Assen.
“And then this one takes away some confidence. It took me some races to stay on my full level. But I’m so happy for how I improved the bike.”
